1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sports protective equipment, particularly to such equipment to be used in the game of hockey, for example, ice hockey, street hockey, in-line skate hockey and so on.
2. Brief Discussion of the Background Art
Hockey is a contact sport, and as such, players must be protected against impact, either from other players, from the boards, or from falls on the ice, pavement, etc. In order to protect the mid-portion of a player's body, the region which roughly comprises the area from above the knees to the mid-back portion, and which covers the front, back and lateral sides, players have traditionally worn hockey pants. Hockey pants have traditionally been slipped on over other equipment, such as, for example, athletic protector, shin guards, socks and even sometimes skates.
Traditional hockey pants are generally made of strong nylon construction, and completely cover the mid portion of the player. Such pants are usually in the general form of an oversized pair of shorts. Traditionally, hockey pants are of unitary construction, i.e. they comprise all of the protective elements, padding and support structures in one piece of equipment. All of these elements are typically sewn together such that they cannot be taken apart, separated, removed or relatively adjusted. This is also true for the outer shell of the pant, i.e. the outermost layer of the pant.
This unitary hockey pant construction has some disadvantages. In particular, the outer shell, i.e. that part of the pant which is in contact with other players, the ice, the board, etc., frequently gets dirty and may require cleaning, repair or replacement. In addition, teams, especially high caliber or high performance teams, may wish to change the outer look, color and appearance of the hockey pants for home and away games, which with unitary construction hockey pants necessitates an additional complete hockey pant to be purchased and worn by the player. This is both costly and impractical.
In addition, players, coaches and trainers may wish to change the level of protection which is provided by the hockey pant, through either adding or removing padding and protection. At present, the known hockey pants do not readily allow the addition, removal or repositioning of protection, padding, etc. on the pants.
Accordingly, improvements are desirable.